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Kapha dosha is water and earth. It has the qualities of heavy, slow, cold, damp, soft. It is the season of spring.
In spring the elements of water and earth are increased. We can feel these qualities of heavy, cool, oily, moist in nature and in our bodies. All around us the snow is melting, the rivers are running, ponds are forming, color on the trees and grasses is emerging. Mother Earth is waking up in the form of growth and upward energy. We all feel this in the air and within us. The presence of these qualities in the environment can influence the same qualities in our bodies - especially for people who have more earth and water elements in their bodies. This is known as the constitution of kapha. Due to this emergence of warm air and melting snow there is also a predominance of kapha in nature. You may be noticing an accumulated or stagnated kapha in our constitution in the form of liquids running out of the body. Maybe you have a spring cold, sinus congestion, allergies, or hay fever. What can you do to avoid these seasonal imbalances? Avoid foods that are heavy and oily and minimize sweet, sour and salty. Anything that can cause mucous should be avoided. Instead, consume more pungent, bitter, astringent foods & herbs to dry up the mucous. There is an abundance of food that nature provides us this time of year. Along with certain foods also be aware of how much you are eating, when you are eating, temperature of food and drinks so digestion is stimulated and not weakened or slowed down.
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Hi, I am Tracy Zuschlag, a licensed Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant. I just led a lecture at our local library about Ayurveda. Ayurveda (pronounced Eye-Your-Veda), a sanskrit word, is broken down into two root words: Ayu=life and Veda=science or knowledge so Ayurveda is the "science of your life". Ayurveda is also the sister science to yoga and one of the oldest health care systems in the world (over 5,000 years old). Ayurveda gives us the tools and knowledge to understand the 5 elements or energies: ether, air, fire, water, earth that are in nature and in each living system on earth. Every organism is comprised of ether, air, fire, water, earth and yet every organism is a different combination of these elements - not one of us is the same. This balance we strive for in Ayurveda begins with understanding our biological constitution and how that relates to the seasons of the year, the time of our life, time of the day, along with diet and lifestyle. We then look at your current imbalances and how we can bring you back to a state of balance and optimal health. Remember it took you a lifetime to get to where you are so it may take some time to bring you back to where you should be. This type of medicine isn't a one size fits all plan. I work with each client to individualize a plan that will work for you. When it comes to diet we look at seasonal foods, herbs, spices and within that framework we can talk about recipes, when to eat, what to eat, how to eat. Ayurveda is a whole foods based diet that encourages a variety of foods, depending on your tastes and what will work for you. When it comes to lifestyle we talk about your daily routine, exercise, stress reduction and therapies intended to calm the nervous system and bring about overall health and well-being. Ayurveda is a whole healing system of medicine that balances the body-mind-spirit.
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Whole Healing AyurvedaThe teachings of Ayurveda are as pertinent today as they were thousands of years ago. |
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